Quest Log
REDISCOVER GREEK MYTHOLOGY
hades, LORD OF THE UNDERWORLD
PREMISE
Hades has lost all motivation in his job –judging humans for eternity can get monotone. When a lousy soul questions his authority, an anger outburst reveals some half-truths about his justice system. He needs to prove he’s the rightful ruler of the Underworld before chaos breaks the equilibrium between life and death.
drama / comedy
2d short film
THINK ABOUT IT.
THE GOD OF THE UNDERWORLD IS REALLY JUST THE BUSIEST CLECK ever.
WRITER’S STATMENT
Then, rounding it up with a true representation of Zeus as a show-off and careless god, a shift occurs in the audience’s imaginary. No one is as good or bad as history has led us to believe.
Death Administration is an attempt to rediscover Greek Mythology as it does not aim to retell the stories known to all but instead to step into how their world interacts with our world. It achieves this by challenging the social belief of Hades, that despite being the older brother of Zeus and Poseidon, does not hold the fame both of his brothers got through the centuries.
The few cinematic representations of Greek mythology focus more on other Olympians than on the Lord of the Underworld. The only contemporary work centering on his figure traces back to Disney's Hercules (1997), which has shaped the idea the current audiences have of him: the evil one of the brothers, always looking for vengeance on humans and their gods.
However, the old tales never portray him as malicious. Hades is consistently introduced as a character who maintains balance, offers opportunities and is the most loyal of all gods regarding family. Only Hades, the Supergiant video game from 2020, has treated him as such. Consequently, Hades is the most misunderstood, as he proves to be the one of the few gods who bears any responsibility related to the humans. For the sake of simplifying ideas, and as portrayed in the short film, his responsibility lies in overseeing the afterlife rewards of humans. He decides if the life led until death would bring each human a good, a bad or a neutral eternity. If the process is not completed, the soul would wander the living and become a ghost.
In the end, he is just a remarkably busy clerk, overloaded with work (as more humans die every day), trying to do it as well as he can. And that was the comedic point that sparked the idea: what if he is just an administrative guy confronted with too much work that any annoyance in his day makes him lose his temper –a god-like temper–?
Throughout the narrative, the audience will unravel the deep roots of hatred directed toward Hades and develop a bond of understanding for his character, actions, and motivations. He is presented with the problems in our society and reacts in the most human ways possible. The god-like part of the character blends until its disappearance through his commitment to justice, the loss of motivation for his work and the need to ask for help. All situations in which the audience will see themselves.
May 24
The idea is born.
THE TEAM
SCREENWRITER LARA GÓMEZ
First designs approved. Script in reworks and first official meetings: we are officially looking for funding.
Sep 24 onwards
June 24
Getting some designs for fun.
Aug 24
Script is finished and submitted.